Review: Toni & Guy Rough Texturiser

Today’s second review is of the Toni & Guy Rough Texturiser from their Casual line. I bought this because my pixie cut is finally reaching very short bob stage and I like having my hair a little ‘messy’ when I straighten it. This isn’t a hairspray, so keep that in mind, you will need to use a hairspray after applying this. With that being said, let’s jump in!

THE GOOD:

This isn’t super sticky when you apply it. This is great because, as I just said, you need to apply hairspray afterwards and they can be sticky enough. It also doesn’t make your hair go all crunchy. Honestly, once you’ve sort of scrunched it through your hair and it settles you can’t really feel it in your hair at all. It doesn’t have an offensive scent (well, not to me anyway) and I don’t find that the scent lingers in my hair too much, unless you come up and smell my hair, which would be pretty weird.

THE BAD:

I would have preferred a product that had a bit of hold. This one doesn’t claim to have heaps of hold, so I’m surprised, but it would be nice if they made it so you didn’t need hairspray. Although, then they couldn’t try to get you to by the matching hairspray in the line. I have very oily hair and I find that if I use this too many times in a row before I wash (every second or third day), it really weighs down my hair. This might be something to keep in mind if you have oily hair like me. If you have more dry hair, it might not be a problem at all. I find this even when I do a really good spritz of a good quality dry shampoo.

THE OVERALL:

I like this product, but I’m not sure I’d repurchase it. It was pretty pricey for what it is and I don’t think I’d want to fork out that kind of money for it. I definitely will continue to use up the can I have, but after that I’ll branch out and try other things. It does give me the desired ‘messy’ look I’m after, but I’m sure there are tons of other cheaper products that will do the trick as well. I’m not going to tell you that I don’t recommend this, it’s a good product, but I will say shop around before you pick it up, there might be something better out there.

Review: Too Faced Melted Lipsticks

I thought I’d do a review on the Too Faced Melted lipsticks that my sister got me for Christmas. I gave you all some of my thoughts on these in my Christmas Haul post, but I wanted to give a more in depth view. The pack I got was four mini tubes in the shades Melted Nude, Melted Peony, Melted Fuchsia and Melted Berry.

THE GOOD:

These feel really, really creamy on the lips. They’re not heavy or anything, but you can definitely feel their creamy texture on your lips. The colours are really pretty and pigmented as well, especially the more vibrant shades like Melted Fuchsia and Melted Berry. They have pretty good staying power and the more vibrant ones sometimes leave a bit of a stain after the initial colour has worn off, which is nice because it lengthens the time between reapplications. Even though I only have four different shades, from what I’ve seen in stores, there is a pretty decent variety in shades too. Even this little pack has good variety. Even though they’re all pink based, they are each very different. They layer nicely too. I’ve even done a little bit of an ombre with Melted Nude and Peony, and they sat really nicely with each other. It’s great because it opens up more looks to create with just four shades.

 

THE BAD:

My tubes of Melted Peony and Fuchsia seem a little runny. I have to give them a really vigorous shake to get a pigmented colour out, otherwise it can be a bit watery. I’m not sure if this is how these particular shades are all the time, or if it’s just mine. It’s not too big a deal, I’m not averse to shaking products, but it’s something to look out for. They can settle into the lines on my lips as well. It’s not super noticeable in real life, but it can be in photos.

THE OVERALL:

I really like these lipsticks. I wasn’t too sure I would, because I was sceptical about the liquid concept. They’re really creamy, and do actually last on the lips. I love the colours I have as well. Melted Nude and Melted Berry are by far my favourites. I think these mini ones will last a while, but I’m pretty sure I’d purchase the full size of my favourites once they run out. I definitely recommend checking these out if you haven’t already. They’re so easy to apply, even the darker shades like Melted Berry.

Review: Maybelline Big Eyes Mascara

This review is for the Maybelline Big Eyes Mascara, which is part of their ‘Falsies’ range. This mascara comes with a double ended wand, one for your top lashes and the other for you bottom lashes. This isn’t a waterproof mascara or anything (as far as I can tell), and even though it comes with a little tube for each wand, I’m fairly certain it’s just equal to one regular tube.

THE GOOD:

I like the fact that this has two different sized wands for the top and bottom lashes. the top lash wand is fairly standard as far as the Volume Express wands go. This is my third different mascara from the Volume Express range and they all seem pretty much the same. The bottom lash wand is very dainty and thin. It holds just enough product to be able to put a light coat on for starters and then build it up as you want. The formula isn’t too wet or dry, which is good. It doesn’t seemed to have changed too much in consistency, despite it being opened for a few weeks now.

THE BAD:

I find that this smudges pretty easily, particularly on my lower lash line. I have to be very careful around my eye area until it sets, which takes a little while. Like I said before, the upper lash wand isn’t really anything I haven’t seen before from this range, which is a little disappointing. It would have been nice to see them try something a little different, even if it failed. With this formula though, I actually prefer to use the lower lash wand for both, just because the upper lash one seems to distribute too much product, and then smears easily because of it.

THE OVERALL:

This is definitely not my favourite mascara at all. I don’t hate it, nor will I throw it out before it’s finished, but I don’t think it’s worthy of a repurchase. My favourite mascara to date has been the Mega-Plush from Maybelline, and this doesn’t hold a candle to that one at all. It’s useable, but I feel like the top wand will go to waste because I mostly use the bottom one. Also, this isn’t a mascara I use when I got out for the night because of how much it tends to smudge. I still have a tube of the Volume Express Smokey Eyes one, and I use it when I need my mascara to last and last because it’s more of a drier formula. This isn’t a hit for me. It’s good in theory, but it doesn’t preform that well.

Review: Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette

Today I’m bringing you a review of the Too Faced Natural Eyes palette. I talked a little about this in my Christmas Haul posts. I bought this with the Mecca Maxima gift card I got from my parents for Christmas. This is the very first taste (not literally!) of Too Faced eyeshadows I’ve had and the second product from them that I have ever owned, the first being the gift pack of mini Melted lipsticks my sis got me for Christmas. I’ve always wanted to try out their shadows, but couldn’t decided which palette to go with. In the end I decided to start small (because every Mecca was completely sold out of the Chocolate Bar palette), and I’m glad I did!

THE GOOD:

The shadows are really beautiful. They’re pigmented, creamy in texture and just glide on like butter. The colours are great too, particularly for a neutral-type palette. A lot of times neutral palettes can be a little blah. Honestly, I even find that with my Naked Basics palette, despite it being my favourite palette. I love the variety in this palette. It’s got the most basic neutral/brown shades alongside some beautiful champagnes, golds, and sparkly browns. There’s nine shades and a ton of different looks to create. I also like the thoughtful little pamphlet showing you three different looks that would be easy to achieve. The lasting power on these is pretty great too. I can wear them all day with minimal to no creasing, which on my eyelids, which crease so easily, is no mean feat.

THE BAD:

As with most sparkly shadows, these ones bring a bit of fall out. It’s definitely not a deal-breaker, but you might want to think about doing your eyeshadow before the rest of your face. The three matte brown shades are very similar, especially the two lighter ones (Nudie and Cashmere Bunny). I think instead of having both Nudie and Cashmere Bunny, one could have been sacrificed in place of another matte shade, like a matte pink or gold. The magnet can seem flimsy on it. I mean, it stays shut, but even so, I would feel like I need to make it extra secure when I travel. Maybe it’s just because I’m used to palettes that just click shut, who knows.

THE OVERALL:

I really love this palette. It’s going to come in handy for travel (despite my doubts about the magnet). The shades offer enough variety that you wouldn’t really need to pack too many other shadows, if any. There some of the best quality shadows I have ever bought too. I’m so amazed by the quality. I definitely think that after buying this one, the Chocolate Bar palette will definitely have to be added to list of my makeup must-haves. I can safely say that I did not waste one cent of my gift card with this palette!

Review: philosophy Purity One-Step Cleanser

So, at the start of last year I bought this big sample bag from David Jones and in it was the Purity One-Step Cleanser. I put the bag in my bottom makeup drawer, where I put all my samples to try and there it stayed until about a month ago, when I ran out of my Nivea cleanser and was both too cheap and too lazy to go out and find a new cleanser. All I knew was that I didn’t want the Nivea one again, since it ended up being kind of blah. So I rifled through my samples to find one that wasn’t bad and lo and behold, there was this little bottle of the Purity cleanser.

THE GOOD:

I’ve been using this every day for a little over a month now and I knew I loved it after just a few uses. It literally takes off all my makeup! I’m so impressed. Before this I was still using up the Garnier milk cleanser thingy I reviewed a while ago, which, even though it says that it’s safe for eyes, stung like a mother on me. With this in mind, I was very sceptical about the Purity cleanser not doing the same thing. Boy was I wrong! It gets all my makeup off from my eyes and only stings if it touches my actual eyeball (duh! And yep, that bloody stings!!). I was worried that this might irritate my sensitive skin because I thought it might foam and make my skin feel tight, but it doesn’t at all. My skin feels really clean without the tightness, which is great. I get a lot of redness really easily with face washes, and I am so happy that this doesn’t activate it. Another great thing about this is that a little goes a long way. A few days after I started using it I bought one of the small travel bottle of it to take away with me, which I have seriously only used on that trip. Before my trip and when I got home I’ve been using the little 30ml sample bottle and I still have some left. It’s crazy!

THE BAD:

I can’t think of a lot of bad things about this stuff. I just love it so much and am so impressed with it. One thing that does bother me a little when I use it is the strong scent. It’s not fragranced, but all the ingredients create a string scent. It’s not a horrible scent, in fact it smells nice, but when I cleanse over my nose and then try to breathe in it can be a bit overwhelming. Apart from that I don’t have anything bad to say about it.

THE OVERALL:

Despite the somewhat overwhelming scent I think I have finally found a great cleanser. I am so lazy when it comes to skincare. I hate having a routine that includes more than two steps, so this is perfect. I can cleanse and moisturise and be done with it. It’s pure heaven to such a lazy-bum like me. I love that I only have one cleanser for getting my makeup off and just simply cleansing (like in the morning, etc.). I love how long lasting the product has proved to be and once my little travel-sized bottle is finally started and finished I’ll invest in the bigger bottle. Even though it’s a little pricier, it’s great value for money. I think Mecca Maxima sells the massive bottle for about $46 and I can see that lasting for months and months. After spending the better part of 2014 trying to find the best cleanser for my skin, I’m so pleasantly surprised to find that it was sitting in my sample drawer all year!

Review: Divergent Book Series by Veronica Roth

Today’s book review is actually going to cover all three books in the series. I thought about doing one review for each, but I’m pretty sure I can get all my thoughts out about all of them in one post. I want to say first that I know a lot of people compare these to the Hunger Games series, and even more so with the movies, but I really don’t see it. Apart from being about a young woman struggling in a dystopian future, they are worlds apart.

So, here’s what the series is about:

DIVERGENT:

This is the first book in the series. It starts off the story of Beatrice ‘Tris’ Prior, who lives in a future time where the world has been mostly destroyed through war and her city lives in factions. The factions are divided into Erudite (the smarty-pants), Candor (the truth-tellers), Amity (the nice hippies), Dauntless (the tough guys) and Abnegation (the goodie two-shoes). Tris grew up in Abnegation, but when she turns 16 she has to attend a choosing ceremony where she must choose which faction she will belong to. Before the ceremony she undergoes a series of tests to determine which faction she would be strongest in. The tests show that she doesn’t belong in one more than another, which makes her a Divergent (yep there’s the title!). So basically she chooses Dauntless and has to hide her divergentness all the while trying to make it through the intense Dauntless training/selection process that, if she fails, will cause her to be kicked out and become factionless. Then the crap hits the fan and she must ‘save the day’. Aren’t I just the best at describing plotlines!

INSURGENT:

Takes off where the first book left off. Tris and her group are on the run and are officially factionless. She and her boyfriend, Four have to navigate how to beat the bad guys and also how to not kill each other when they annoy the crap out of each other. There are obstacles that carry on from the first book, but the main problem arises from conflict between Four’s estranged parents. There’s a lot of family conflict and betrayal in this one, and some characters start to play surprising parts. Right at the end a major twist is revealed that completely changes the pace for the third novel. Seriously, I am so good at this! In all honesty, I’m just trying not to ruin it for anyone who might want to read it!

ALLEGIANT:

This is where it gets a bit weird. They venture out past their city limits, something that has never been done before (or so they thought). They meet a whole new group of people and realise that the threats don’t just exist inside the limits of the city. They have to rush to stop both conflicts on the inside and the outside worlds. This one also includes alternating chapters of Tris’ point of view and Four’s. The ending to this series has been quite widely discussed, and I’m sure if you google it you will find out what I’m talking about, but I’m not going to ruin it here. I had to find out  through reading, I think everyone else should too!

THE GOOD:

I really did enjoy this series. I was compelled to read them after seeing the first movie and becoming a little obsessed. If I had to pick an order I would probably choose Insurgent, Divergent and then Allegiant. I was a little apprehensive about even the movie when I saw so many people comparing it to the Hunger Games because I’m really not a fan of them. I tried to read the books and only made it halfway through the first book before becoming bored and I barely made it through the first movie. I thought it was only okay. I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy Divergent (the movie). As an avid reader it was only natural to read the books. The first and second books are almost equal in my liking of them with Insurgent only leading slightly. I find them to be very well written. They don’t read too descriptively and are easy to get through. I have a lot of trouble with books that are overly descriptive (I’m looking at you Mr. Tolkien! I will finish your books!), mainly because it stunts my imagination, which is very overactive. I love being able to envision the worlds I’m reading about, and I find it really difficult to do that when the author tells you every single teeny tiny detail. Veronica Roth doesn’t do that at all. She gives just the right amount of description, and leaves the rest to your imagination. I also didn’t grow tire of the love story in the series. Tris and Four weren’t one of those mushy couples, which I can’t stand to read. I like that she stood up for herself and kick arse just as much, and even more so than he did. She was hero of the book and so was he. It was very cool to see a book that didn’t have one side of gender saving the day, but both of them doing it together, as equals. Very refreshing.

THE BAD:

*Sigh*. The controversial end wasn’t great. I wasn’t bother by the ending at all, but the means to the end is what I was bothered by. It wasn’t a necessary evil for me. It could have been avoided in the storyline and if that end absolutely had to be, then it should have happened differently. Actually, most of my issues with the series have to do with Allegiant. I wasn’t a fan of the alternating points of view. If they had of been portrayed completely differently it would have been another story, but I honestly didn’t realise I was reading Four’s point of view until he referred to Tris by her name. Then I had to go back and see what the hell was going on. It felt very forced and it also felt very lazy. She didn’t seem to put much effort at all into creating two completely different points of view. If the start of each chapter didn’t say who was narrating I wouldn’t have been able to tell. It’s the first time these characters became less relatable to me. I found it really hard to believe that these two people thought and felt things in nearly the exact same way. It just was a real letdown.

THE OVERALL:

I really did like this series, despite being slightly let down by the third book. I do think Roth writes really well and created a compelling and unique dystopian world. I can see, after reading the third book, why people had problems with it, but despite what you might have heard, if this is a genre that interests you I definitely recommend giving it a whirl. They’re easy to read and keep you interested and I was really happy that I bought the set because I would definitely read them again.

Best of 2014 - Random Stuff

Today marks the end of my Best of 2014 series. It’s covering all the random stuff I loved over the year. I really wanted to share some of my favourite books and movies, etc. especially since I only started this site in the middle of the year and I wouldn’t have review pretty much any of it.

Let’s jump in!

BOOK – THE HOBBIT:

I was very proud to finish this book. I know it’s not that big of an achievement to get through such a small book, but for some reason I have a lot of trouble with the amount of description that Tolkien put in his stories. So, to finally finish this book was really exciting for me. I really loved the book and it really helped in the wait for the final movie. I just wanted to give it a shout out since it was kind of a mini Everest for me!

BLU-RAY PURCHASE – FRIENDS BOXSET:

This is the best show ever! I have loved this show for years and I seriously wore out my DVD collection, so when I saw the Blu-ray boxset for really cheap I had to have it! I have watched it over and over again throughout the year. I can’t even tell you how many times. Friends is my favourite show of all time and I will never grow tired of it. It’s the show I go to whenever I don’t know what I want to watch, so I’m so glad to have a really good quality boxset!

MAKEUP BRUSH – NUDE BY NATURE KABUKI BRUSH:

I have a ton of makeup brushes, but this is my old faithful. I have repurchased about five of these brushes. I always keep one in my bag and I have two in my collection at home. I use one for liquid/cream foundations and the other for mineral and setting powders, depending on what my foundation routine is. I just love this brush. It’s one of those items that gets pushed to the side when new products come on the scene, but is always there waiting for me when I need it. I always go back to this brush, no matter what amazing brushes I’ve added to my collection.

PERFUME – VERSACE BRIGHT CRYSTAL:

 I’ve always bounced from perfume to perfume, trying to find my perfect scent and I think I finally found it in this perfume. I wish I could describe the scent, but I can’t except to say that I never want to stop smelling it. I haven’t really worn any other perfume since I bought this. I just love it so much!

MOVIE RELEASE – GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY:

This might be a bit of an obvious one, but I went back through all the movies I saw last year (that were released last year) and this is the one that when I saw it I immediately went ‘Yep, that’s the one!’ I just loved this movie! It was funny and easy to watch. I’m a big fan of the Avenger movies and this one is up there as one of the best ones I’ve seen. I much prefer superhero movies that don’t take things too seriously (except the Dark Knight trilogy, but that’s Batman, he’s in a league of his own!). I think there was a lot of cliché parts to this movie, but that didn’t bother me at all. It was definitely the cast ensemble that made even the most cliché parts easy to take in and love.

BOOK – AUDREY HEPBURN, AN ELEGANT SPIRIT:

Ahh, Audrey Hepburn. My favourite actress. I have seen nearly all her movies and think there will never be anyone like her again, but I also think we should all aspire to be even just a bit like her. This book was written by her son, Sean and in it he includes family photos, which gives a unique insight into her life outside Hollywood. It’s a very real depiction of her life, not just the good parts and it’s so beautifully told that I was very sad to come to the end of the book. A really great read, I definitely recommend it.

MANGA SERIES – MIKI FALLS:

This is a series created by an American artist, Mark Crilley. It’s a really good series. Unlike Japanese manga, his books are printed in western style, so from left to right. That makes it much easier to follow, which is cool. His drawings are great. They have so much detail and he seems really knowledgeable about Japanese culture, which he appears to stay very true to. I couldn’t put these down when I got them, and I think I even read them again straightaway when I finished them.

T.V. SERIES (DISCOVERED LAST YEAR) – TRUE BLOOD:

I know, I know, this is old news, but I only started it last year. I watch the first episode years ago when it first came out and wasn’t interested, but last year I caught a season two episode and was hooked. So I borrowed the DVDs from someone and watched them all up to season five. Then I couldn’t get my hands on season six (bummer). Foxtel recently added a channel called Boxsets, and they played the entire series so I finally got through the rest of the show. I just love it now (although, as far as vampire stuff goes, Buffy is still better)! I watch episodes on Foxtel if they’re on, and it definitely became an obsession once I discovered it last year!

NOTEBOOK:

This is truly a random one, but I loved this notebook this year. As a writer, I love to write down my thoughts and issues and happy moments and I filled this notebook up with all of those for a good part of the year. I’m very picky with notebooks used for this purpose, and I had a few unfinished ones before I found this one. I just love it. It’s red and vintage-y looking and I love that it had the sepia/yellow-y colour paper rather than the stark white paper. It might sound strange to gush so much about a notebook, but if you write a lot you’ll understand!

That’s everything I loved throughout 2014! Well, not everything, but that’s my narrowed down list anyway! I hope you guys enjoyed this series and are having a great first month of the year! 

Bookfest Haul

Today I head over to the Brisbane Lifeline Bookfest, which is held in the Convention Centre. I completely forgot that this was on. I usually go on the first day, but I missed it, and every day until today. I used to have a massive collection of books, mostly bought from Bookfests, but a while ago I sold a whole bunch because I had boxes of them just sitting there collecting dust and I felt bad for them (yes everyone, books are people too! They have feelings!). I wanted them to go to a loving home where they could be put on display. So I decided to go in to the Bookfest with a plan today, just to be certain my collection didn’t creep too far back to what it was. It was pretty bad before. I mean, some people have monsters under their beds, I had books… lots of books.

I decided that the only books I was going to allow myself to buy were ones that helped to complete my collection of Southern Vampire Mysteries books by Charlaine Harris (I call the the True Blood books). I haven’t read any of them yet. I’ve had books 1-3 since the last Bookfest, but I still haven’t read them. I was missing eight of the books and when I came home I was no longer missing any! I only went off track once, so I was pretty proud of myself. As you can see from the picture below, I got the True Blood books and also The Blind Side, which I’m really excited to read. I’ve watched the movie a bunch of times and really like. I plan on doing a review on The Blind Side, but I’m not sure about the True Blood ones, just because there’s 13 of them and that’s a lot. I think I’ll read the first one and see if I feel strongly enough about it to review it. 

Review: Updated Opinion on Sailor Moon Crystal

A while ago I did a review of the very first episode of Sailor Moon Crystal, which aired online around the world. In Australia you can access the episodes through www.crunchyroll.com and just finding Sailor Moon Crystal in the shows section. So this Saturday just gone marked the end of the Dark Kingdom arc of the series (the first arc in the storyline), so I figured I’d do an updated review now that I’ve seen all 14 episodes.

THE GOOD:

I really enjoyed the animation of this version. I like that they were different from the original, but still retained a certain familiarity. Also, the plotline definitely seemed to stick closer to the original manga series than the 90’s series did, which went very off story a lot of the time. As much as I love the original series, I personally prefer the manga. I’ve never really watched any anime things in Japanese with subtitles, and I was very happy to find that I was able to keep up and enjoy the show despite not being able to speak the language. I think the great detail and vibrancy of the animation is to thanks for that.

THE BAD:

Okay, I know I said they seemed to stick more to the manga than the original did, and I stand by that, however I feel like they didn’t stick as close to it as they promised when they first started making announcements for it. I’m not sure, I may have to read them again, but I think there were a lot of liberties taken that maybe didn’t need to be. Also, I wasn’t a huge fan of the transformations, especially Sailor Moon’s. Her arms and legs go crazy long and look so weird. I definitely prefer the original transformations.

THE OVERALL:

Overall I really do like this series. I love that it’s available to everyone via the internet and nobody has to wait longer than anyone else for episodes. I’ve really enjoyed watching it and finding out how a new generation is interpreting the original manga. I’m keen to start watching the second arc of the series, which will cover the Black Moon arc. I think it should start back around the 7^th of February, which isn’t far away. I’m also intrigued to see what the company who is dubbing it into English does with it, although I think that’s still quite a long time away. I really recommend this for anyone who is into this style of show, or if you were a fan of the original series or manga. It’s pretty cool guys!

Best of 2014 - Lip Products

Today’s post is my Best of 2014 covers my favourite lip products for the year. Just like the eye products, there isn’t a set structure to these favourites. I just picked my most loved, most used products for the year because, like eye products, I didn’t have anywhere near as hard a time picking them as I did with the face products. It’s taking me a while to get these up, especially this week because my internet has been down. It went down Tuesday afternoon and only came back on late this afternoon. Fingers crossed it doesn’t happen again! Hope you guys enjoy this post!

BENFIT CHA CHA BALM:

This is the best lip balm I have ever bought. Ever. Sure it’s $26, but I really don’t care. I use it all the time. I also have Posie Balm now, which is every bit as good, but I just love the orange tint Cha Cha Balm gives my lips. I’m all for orange, especially since it’s my favourite colour. It goes really well underneath lipstick and gloss and also looks great by itself. I love to pair it with Posie Tint to achieve a nice almost coral/peachy tint on the lips. It’s so hydrating and smells so yummy! I really want to get the other shades as well because these are amazing balms!

NYX BUTTER GLOSS IN CRÈME BRULEE:

A cult favourite and it’s so easy to see why. This is so pretty on the lips. It makes your lips look so hydrated and supple. It goes really nicely over pick lipstick, helping to tone more vibrant shades down a little, which is what I like. I also wear it by itself. It doesn’t have super longevity or anything, but hey, it’s lip gloss. I like that it’s not too sticky as well. I don’t wear lip gloss very often, but this is one of the ones I reach for when I do.

REVLON KISSABLE BALMSTAIN IN RENDEZVOUS:

I have three of these and Rendezvous is by far my favourite. It’s a nice vibrant orange shade. It’s really buildable and can be worn as a light stain on the lips too. I don’t find these particularly hydrating, but I just make sure I use a balm underneath. I love these for colour and longevity. You can wear really vibrant shades and layer them on to be really pigmented or sheer them out for a light tint, and they really do leave a great stain on the lips, so even after you’ve been eating and drinking you’ve still got a hint of colour to your lips.

BENEFIT POSIE TINT:

I finally bought a couple of the Benefit tints later in the year. I got a triple pack of luxury sample sizes. In the pack I got Cha Cha Tint, Sun Beam and Posie Tint. Of the three Posie Tint is the one I use the most. I use it both on my lips and cheeks and I love how it looks for both. I love this for lazy makeup days, when I want to look presentable but want to put as little effort in as possible. All I do is slap on some foundation and concealer, then brush this on my lips and cheeks. I usually top it off on my lips with the Cha Cha Tint, for some hydration. It’s a great invention and I can’t believe that I went so long without it!

M.A.C. ROCKY HORROR LIPSTICK IN STRANGE JOURNEY:

I know talking about limited edition stuff is a bit of a no-no in the beauty blogging world, but I can’t resist gushing about this one more time! I don’t wear a lot of bright lip colours, but when I got this I wore it almost exclusively for about a month. I would wear it really pigmented or sheered out and it was amazing either way. I love the formula, especially since it’s a matte shade, and I had heard that M.A.C. matte shades weren’t all that and a bag of potato chips. This was the first M.A.C. lipstick I bought and it made me want to buy all of them, just because. It’s the perfect shade of red for me because it’s quite warm toned and doesn’t make my teeth look really yellow. As far as bright red lipsticks go, this is my one true love and that’s why I had to include it in this post! 

So that's it for my favourite beauty products for 2014! The final post will be all random stuff that has won my heart over the year!

Christmas Haul Pt 2.2: Boxing Day Sales

And finally we come to the end of my Christmas Haul series. This post covers the final things I bought at the Boxing Day sales. I’m really happy with all the things I bought and very lucky to have been able to get them. I will do reviews on things that I think are more interesting over time. In the meantime let’s get into it!

VALLEYGIRL LONG CARDIGANS:

There’s not heaps to say about these. I think they were only about $10 each. I wear them all the time now. They look great both dressed up and casually. I love pairing the black on with jeans and the cream coloured one with my favourite black maxi skirt. These are so comfy and I love how I feel when I wear them!

GOLD FEATHER PENDANT:

I got this for $15 from Prouds when I bought my watch. It was half price and so cute I couldn’t resist it. It looks to dainty and pretty on the chain that I’ve got it on. I like to pair it with a longer gold necklace with a bigger pendant (like a locket or something) on it.

DAVID BOWIE T-SHIRT:

I love this! I’ve been looking for a decent Bowie shirt for years and there it was hanging in a shop in Maroochydore. I picked up immediately. I love Bowie. He’s my favourite music artist. I’ve got nearly all his concert DVDs and most of his songs. And now I have a shirt with his face on it!

HARRY POTTER BOXSET ON BLU-RAY:

I had all of these on DVD, but this boxset was so cheap I couldn’t resist. I’ve always loved Harry Potter and I still love breaking out the DVDs (or Blu-Rays now) having a marathon. The quality is really great on the blu-ray, I can see getting many, many, many more hours of enjoyment out of the movies with my upgraded quality!

TOO FACED NATURAL EYES PALETTE:

And finally we come to the last makeup item I bought. I got this with my Mecca Maxima giftcard that my parents got me alongside the M.A.C. one. I really like this palette. I was tossing up between this one and the Chocolate Bar palette, but my impatience made my mind up for me when the store was completely sold out of the Chocolate Bar palette. I have to admit though, I’ll probably get more use out of the Natural Eyes palette anyway. The shadows are so nice and creamy in texture. It has a really great balance between matte and shimmery shades too. It’s just a great everyday palette.

So, that’s it for my Christmas Haul. It only took four posts and a few weeks to get through it! I hope you guys enjoyed this little series. I really just wanted to share with you what I got and what I thought about it all. Like I said before, I’ll do reviews on some of the stuff, so look out for them! Hope everyone is having an awesome day!

Review: #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso

I’m so excited to finally be able to dedicate some time to recreational reading. I didn’t get a lot of time for it last year and since I’ve been on break from uni I’ve finished two books so far. I’m pretty proud. I used to read all the time, but having to read boring textbooks for uni kind of sucks the fun out of reading recreationally. I’m glad to have found the fun in it again!

This review (as the title says) is about ‘#GIRLBOSS’ by Sophia Amoruso. She is the CEO of Nasty Gal, which is an online fashion store that started out as a vintage clothes store on eBay and is now crazy successful.

THE GOOD:

There are so many things right with this book. I love the structure. Like Lena Dunham’s book there’s no real chronology to it. Instead she sorts her stories out into chapters that are designed to send different messages and lessons. I love how candid she was. She wasn’t afraid to come out and say that she’s not perfect and her story is not a ‘Cinderella story’. She’s a huge advocate for hard work and pursuance of your dream, no matter how difficult it might be to get there. She’s real with the reader about the realities of success and failure and encourages #GIRLBOSSES to take control and responsibility of and for their lives. She points out that even though you can’t control everything, you can control what you do with what you have. She gives great emotional, logical advice that can relate to both business and life. I love that this isn’t just another memoir. It’s a book of advice from someone who has struggled and who continues to work her butt off every day.

THE BAD:

I think some people might find the book a little braggy. I personally don’t, but I could see how it might come across that way. She talks a lot about her success and her business’ success. She’s proud of her accomplishments (quite rightly) and she voices that throughout the book. Honestly, that’s just me trying to find something wrong with the book.

THE OVERALL:

I loved this. It’s easy to read and gives great, sound advice. It’s nice to relate to her, not just because she’s so young, but because she knows that things don’t ‘just happen’. You have to work hard for them and it feels so much better when you do. I felt really inspired by her and I really recommend this to any #GIRLBOSS or #GIRLBOSS-to-be out there!

Best of 2014 - Eye Products:

Welcome to my next ‘Best of 2014’! This one covers my favourite eye products of the year. It’s not structured quite the same as the ‘face products’ one was because I didn’t have as hard a time trying to limit my choices. As much as I love eyes products, I’m very loyal to a few items and am very sure in my knowledge of which I love the most.

Let’s get started!

CHI CHI NUDES PALETTE:

I did a review on this ages ago and I love it as much now as I did then. The texture of the shadows is so creamy and pigmented. It is a shame that it doesn’t have many matte shades, but still, there are a million different looks to create with this palette. As I mentioned in the review, I got this palette because I was having trouble getting my hands on the Urban Decay Naked palette and I’d read that this was very, very close. In comparing photos I can’t see that much of a difference, and in comparing the quality (once I got my hands on the Naked Basics palette), I really don’t notice that much of a difference. The Urban Decay ones might be a little more longwearing, but that’s it. For the price, the Chi Chi shadows are fantastic. I highly recommend them to anyone.

E.L.F. EYELID PRIMER:

When it comes to stopping my eyelids from creasing this stuff is it. Nothing I’ve tried, from Paint Pots to other primers to mattifying powders have even come close to this stuff. I love it. Best $3 I have ever spent. It does run out quickly, but at three bucks who cares? I never thought I would find something like this. It is one of my all-time favourite makeup products. It just makes doing my makeup so much easier. I only buy the peach toned one. I’ve tried the white and it kind of sucks. The peach is amazing. Covers my dark circles and stuff too!

MAYBELLINE COLOUR TATTOOS:

I have two of these. One in Barely Branded and the other in Bad to the Bronze. Both of them are awesome. I still need to use the E.L.F. Eyelid Primer with them, but if want I can just use them as a colour alone, with a bit of setting powder on top or they can be great eyeshadow bases. I love them and think that they’re as good as Paint Pots from M.A.C. The only problem is that they haven’t released any matte ones here in Australia yet. I’d get them all if they did!

URBAN DECAY NAKED BASICS PALETTE:

This is perfect travel palette. There are quite a few looks you can get out of it, and the quality of the shadows is great. They last ages on my eyes and I love matte shadows. It’s so small and compact. I take it everywhere when I travel. If I’m only going away for a few days or overnight it’s usually the only eyeshadow I take. It’s the best eyeshadow purchase I’ve ever made!

MAYBELLINE MEGA PLUSH MASCARA:

This has to be one of the bast mascaras I've ever used. The formula stays great no matter whether it's brand new and still quite wet or whether it's older and starting to dry out. It lasts for ages too. I bought my first one at the 2013 Boxing Day sales and have only had to repurchase once since. Both times I managed to get it on sale for half price, which is $10. I initially really wanted to try the Clinique Lash Doubling stuff, but I just can't justify it now, because I love this so much and I don't wear mascara that much as it is. Also, I know waterproof is a gripe for a lot of people, but this one doesn't bother me at all!

BENEFIT GIMME BROW:

This will be the only brow product I’m going to mention. That’s mainly because it’s the only one I’ve love consistently throughout most of the year. This is a little bit of a luxury purchase, but I love it. It’s not really thick, which is nice, but it sculpts and fills the brows nicely. It’s a great cool toned dark brown that is perfect for my black eyebrows. I love that I can wear it alone or sweep it through to set whatever I used to fill them in properly. Just a really great eyebrow product guys, I really recommend it, especially for people who like their brows done, but are lazy… like me!

Christmas Haul Pt 2.1 - Boxing Day Sales:

Okay, so I decided to quit being slack and finally get a few posts up that have been stuck in planning stage. This one is part 2.1 of my Christmas Haul, so it’ll be covering things I bought during the Boxing Days sales. For anyone who doesn’t know what they are: they are the massive sales that start on Boxing Day (duh) where shops put on some of their biggest savings of the year. My mum likened it to the Black Friday sales, but nowadays it’s not allowed to only go for one day, so it goes until around New Year’s Eve. My sister, our aunt and I go pretty much every year on Boxing Day and brave all the crazy shoppers (and become crazy shoppers!).

So, here’s some of what I got:

JAG BLACK SATCHEL HANDBAG:

I got this from Myer. I think I saved around $50 or $60 on it, which was pretty good. I absolutely love it. It’s not too big or small and I seriously haven’t used a different bag since I bought it. I really love satchel type bags. I love having a longer strap. This one fits all my crap in it, including my ridiculously overfilled A5 planner I put together at the start of the year. It’s one of my favourite bags that I have bought in ages.

ELITE ROSE GOLD WATCH:

I have been looking for a watch exactly like this for ages! I really like this larger round faced style, but a lot of them look crazy big on my wrist (I think because my arms are pretty short), so I was pretty chuffed to find this in Prouds at Maroochydore (where we went shopping). I love the simple white face with the rose gold hands, etc. Prouds is great with watches too. I needed another link for it and with them you can get (I think) the first 2 free. I only needed one and it arrived pretty quickly once it was ordered.

GIRLS SEASONS 1 & 2 (no pic sorry!):

I popped into JB Hi-Fi on my way back from my Christmas holiday on Boxing Day and was lucky enough to find a 20% sale on all DVDs and Blu-Rays, so I picked up these 2 seasons on Blu-Ray. By another stroke of luck the ‘Girls’ seasons were part of a buy one get one half price deal, which brought the total for both seasons down to a pretty little $25. I love this show. I’ve gushed about it before, so I won’t again, except to say that I think it’s fantastic and recommend it highly.

M.A.C. CREAMSHEEN LIPSTICK & BLUSH PAN:

I bought these with my giftcard that my parents gave me for Christmas. The lipstick is in the shade Peach Blossom and the blush is in Lovecloud. I really didn’t want to feel like I wasted my giftcard. M.A.C. is expensive and I wanted to make sure I got stuff I knew I would use all the time, hence the nude lipstick and blush. I love both of these. I was correct in my choosing because I do use them all the time, the blush especially. I’ve actually been using it more than my favourite, which is the Estee Lauder Pure Colour in Peach Passion. Lovecloud has a sheen to it that is so subtle and pretty. I prefer blushes like this, because they’re not as flat as matte shades, but they don’t make you look like your face slammed into a bowl of glitter. I really love the lipstick too. It’s only the second M.A.C. lipstick I’ve ever owned and it definitely makes me want more. It’s co creamy and pretty. It’s the perfect nude-type colour for my lips because it has a nice pink tone to it. I just love it!

NOVO BASIC BLACK STRAPPED THONGS:

Thongs, flip flops… whatever. Here we call them thongs. I love these. They were only $15 and they are so comfy! I don’t usually like thongs for anywhere but the beach, but I’ve been wearing these all the time. They look especially great paired with a maxi skirt.

CITY CHIC BASIC WHITE TEE AND SINGLET:

There’s not a whole lot to say about these. Think they were only about $10 each, which is super cheap for City Chic. I really love them both. I think I do prefer the tee to the singlet. The cut is just a little more flattering and I like when shirts are a little longer. Like I said, they’re only basic, but I prefer basic stuff and doing more dramatic makeup and whatnot. 

Review: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

After being thoroughly disappointed by my one true movie love (Disney) earlier this week, I was a little more than sceptical about getting my hopes up for the final instalment of ‘The Hobbit’ movies. I was particularly nervous because the second one didn’t live up to my expectations the way the first had, so I started to believe that Peter Jackson may have peaked at the end of the first one.

THE GOOD:

This movie is every bit as epic in its battles as the third instalment of the Lord of the Rings. The soaring overhead shots that sweep into the action were spectacular to watch. I love that Jackson was able to capture so many different conflicts in the battles in a mere 144 minutes, all without any of them feeling rushed through or dragged out. The main problem I had with the second movie (the Desolation of Smaug) was that he seemed to stray way off the beaten path of the book. Now, I’ve read many a book and then seen the movie after without being bothered by such nonsense, but this is different. This is Tolkien and there were some things I found to be wholly unnecessary. However, the continuation of these additions in the third movie did not bother me at all really. I feel like they were executed far better and more in the manner of Tolkien. I was worried that the ‘love triangle’ between Tauriel, Kili and Legolas was going to be a big focus again, drawing attention away from better things, but it was incorporated into battle so well that I barely noticed it. Perhaps my favourite part was the fact that Billy Connelly popped up as Dain, a dwarf leader who showed up for battle.

THE BAD:

I much prefer the days of Lord of the Rings, where CGI was scarce. I feel like there was a little too much of it throughout the entire Hobbit series. I understand the need to have CGI goblins. Goblins are all hunched over and weird and I doubt the production company wanted to pay for chiropractors for 300 extras, but I don’t understand having CGI orcs. In the Lord of the Rings series, most of the orcs and whatnot were actual extras in costume. I’ve seen the behind-the-scenes stuff. A lot of effort went into those extras and it paid off because even now, so many years later, it looks amazing. I’m disappointed with all the CGI in this movie. It feels almost cheapened. Another ‘bad’ is the conflict between Smaug and the lake people. It only takes up the first little bit of the movie and then it’s over. It felt like too much of a major part/ending to the last movie to have been resolved so quickly.

THE OVERALL:

Overall I think this is definitely the best of the three (with number one coming in at a close second). It well and truly topped the second movie. In fact, I feel like, with all the battling, it rivalled ‘The Return of the King’ (third LOTR movie). I walked out of this movie feeling like it was completed. It wasn’t dragged out unnecessarily, nor was it rushed. I would highly recommend seeing this. Of course, if you haven’t seen the first two I would highly recommend doing that first! This movie was awesome, it really was!

Review: 'Title' by Meghan Trainor

Hey guys!

This is going to be a quick one today. I mainly wanted to get this up to kickstart the beginning of a new structure to my blog. I changed the name a while ago from 'An Occasional Beauty Dream' to 'An Occasional Life Dream'. The reason for this change was because I wanted my blog to be about more than beauty stuff. If you want the full explanation then check out my post about it in the 'Chats' menu, but basically I wanted to branch out on what I was talking about. So, I've been planning (and doing) book, movie and TV reviews on top of all the beauty stuff lately and now I've decided to occasionally throw some music reviews into the mix as well. That's what this post is, the very first music review for my blog. I hope it goes okay and like I said, it won't be an exceptionally long one!

Okay, now I've blabbered so much let's get into the review!

I got the first four or five of these songs that were made available late last year (including 'All About That Bass) and loved them all, so I was really excited to get the rest of the album. I really do like it now that I've heard the rest of the album. It's one of those albums that you can put on in the background while you're cleaning and whatnot and just bop along (oh geez, how I old do I sound right now! I'm only 26 I swear!). It's also good car music, well, for me anyway. I personally like a wide array of music, anything from classical to some metal stuff and most genres in between, and this, for me is one of those easy to listen to albums. I will say though, there's a few songs on there that start to run into each other because they sound really similar. There's two on there that sound so similar that if you're not paying attention to the lyrics you might mistake them for each other. 

Overall I really do enjoy this album. It's fun and catchy. It's very much a pop-y type of album, so if that's not the type of music you like, then it's possibly not for you, but if you're cool with upbeat, pop-y tunes I definitely recommend that you check this one out! 

Best of 2014 - Face Products

Welcome to the first of my Best of 2014 posts! I’m going to split these up into four different categories: Face, Eyes, Lips and Random Stuff. Today’s post is going to be Face products. I had to kind of put my thinking cap on for this one, because face, or base products are some of my favourite makeup products. So I decided to split the post up into best ofs for different types of face products. Now that I’ve thoroughly confused everyone, let’s jump in!

I thought I’d include face prep stuff too, like cleanser, etc. I’ll list everything in order of how I would apply it to my face.

BEST FACIAL CLEASNER – PHILOSOPHY PURITY CLEANSER:

I was a bit hesitant to name this the best, not because it’s not good, but because I discovered it very late in the year. Strictly speaking I understand these Best Of posts to be about products you’ve used thoroughly throughout the year, but oh well. This is quite possibly the best cleanser I’ve ever used. I was hesitant to try it because I was under the impression that it was quite foamy and having dry, sensitive skin that wouldn’t really work too well. Now that I’ve finally been using it I can’t believe that I wasted all that money trying all those other ones I’ve tried this year. It’s so good, guys, I can’t even tell you. It gets all my makeup off, and I don’t need to use another cleanser afterwards. As a bonus, it has little to no foaming which means my skin doesn’t get that dry tight feeling, which in turn means I don’t go as red as a tomato in the face.

BEST MOISTURISER – AVEENO POSITIVELY RADIANT DAILY MOISTURISER:

I had a really hard time choosing between this or the Sukin Moisture Restoring Night Cream, which is amazing as well, but ultimately the Aveeno one won out. I love this moisturiser. I spent a good part of the year searching for a good daily moisturiser that didn’t break the bank, and this is the one that fit the bill. I had originally fallen in love with the Clinique Dramatically Different moisturiser, but this one is even better and so is the price tag. It’s so creamy and light. It gives a nice glow to the skin and doesn’t leave a greasy film on the skin. I rarely use a primer and find that foundation sits beautifully on top of it.

BEST PRIMER – LAURA MERCIER FOUNDATION PRIMER:

I’m almost certain that this is the original one. I know there are a couple of different types, but I’m pretty sure this is the original. I just love it. I don’t where primer that often because I find it hard to find a primer that doesn’t make my foundation go cakey, but this one doesn’t at all. In fact, it’s quite hydrating. My favourite foundation to use this under is the original Bare Minerals mineral powder foundation. I only have a sample, but it has lasted me a long time. I opened it in October and I still have a bit left. A little goes a long way it seems. I think I will definitely purchase the full size of this.

BEST FOUNDATION – BOBBI BROWN SKIN FOUNDATION STICK:

This one surprised me. My initial review of this was not a glowing review at all, but since then I have made my way to a second stick of it. Since my initial review I have really fallen in love with this foundation. It’s so light and creamy and builds beautifully. It’s also one of the only foundations I’ve ever bought that matches my skin tone perfectly. The first shade I had, which was Porcelain, was slightly darker, but the new stick I have in Alabaster is perfect. I love how easily this blends out, and if I’m feeling lazy I don’t have to powder this and it looks just fine, especially if I want to look a little dewier.

BEST CONCEALER – ESTEE LAUDER BRUSH-ON GLOW BB HIGLIGHTER, SOFT PINK:

Being so pale makes it really hard to find a brightening undereye concealer. I’ve used so many different ones and I was so happy to find this one. Sure, it’s $38, but it’s so worth it. For a highlighting product it has a decent amount of coverage and does a great job at hiding my dark circles. Also, it barely creases if I forget to set it properly and pretty much doesn’t crease at all when I do remember. I really recommend this concealer, especially since they have other shades and most people should be able to find one to match them.

BEST SETTING POWDER – HOURGLASS AMBIENT LIGHTING POWDER, DIFFUSED LIGHT:

This powder is perfection. I hate looking too matte, but feel more confident when I’ve set my foundation with some powder, so this is just the ticket! It gives the most beautiful and subtle glow and I really think it lives up to its name ‘Diffused Light’. I feel almost airbrushed when I where this. It doesn’t feel powdery and blends seamlessly onto the skin and any other makeup underneath. This is probably one of my top favourite purchases of all time!

BEST BRONZER/CONTOUR – E.L.F. ESSENTIAL HEALTHY GLOW BRONZER, SUNKISSED:

There’s not a lot to say about this bronzer. Honestly I’m not big into bronzers or contouring. I rarely do it and mainly just stick to blush. But, this is the bronzer I reached for the most when I did use one. It was the perfect tone and lightness for my skin tone and was able to be sheered out or built up. Unfortunately this bronzer’s life was cut short on my trip over the Christmas break (hence the lack of photo). I dropped my M.A.C pro palette (in which I’d depotted the bronzer pan into) and the bronzer was the only thing harmed in the process. It was completely crushed and smashed. I was very sad to see it go, especially since it had a lot of life left in it. I’ll get a new one eventually. It is only 3 bucks after all, but I do want to get some more use out of my Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess one first.

BEST BLUSH – ESTEE LAUDER PURE COLOUR BLUSH, PEACH PASSION:

This blush is beautiful. It builds nicely without being so pigmented that you look crazy after a tiny swipe. The colour is amazing too. It’s perfect for my skin tone and works throughout the whole year and with nearly every makeup look. It’s been my go-to blush throughout the entire year and I can see it being a favourite for a long time.

BEST HIGHLIGHT – THE BALM MARY-LOU MANIZER:

Ugh, this highlight! It’s exquisite! I’ve had it for about 7 or 8 months now, using it on a near daily basis and I’ve barely made a dent in it. It looke amazing along the cheekbones, down the centre of my face and even on my eyes as a quick everyday eye look. Words cannot describe how much I adore this product. It’s right up there with my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder. 

Up next I'll be sharing my Best of Eye products for 2014, so stay tuned for that one!